Effects of SLC45A2 and GPNMB on Melanin Deposition Based on Transcriptome Sequencing in Chicken Feather Follicles

Ruiting Li; Yanxing Wang; Yihan Liu; Donghua Li; Yadong Tian; Xiaojun Liu; Xiangtao Kang; Zhuanjian Li

doi:10.3390/ani13162608

Effects of SLC45A2 and GPNMB on Melanin Deposition Based on Transcriptome Sequencing in Chicken Feather Follicles

Animals (Basel). 2023 Aug 12;13(16):2608. doi: 10.3390/ani13162608.

Authors

Ruiting Li^{1

2}, Yanxing Wang^{1

2}, Yihan Liu^{1

2}, Donghua Li^{1

2}, Yadong Tian^{1

2}, Xiaojun Liu^{1

2}, Xiangtao Kang^{1

2

3}, Zhuanjian Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
² Henan Key Laboratory for Innovation and Utilization of Chicken Germplasm Resources, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
³ The Shennong Laboratory, Zhengzhou 450000, China.

Abstract

As an essential genetic and economic trait, chicken feather color has long been an important research topic. To further understand the mechanism of melanin deposition associated with coloration in chicken feathers, we selected feather follicle tissues from the neck and wings of chickens with differently colored feathers (yellow, sub-Columbian, and silver) for transcriptome analysis. We focused on genes that were expressed in both the wings and neck and were expressed with the same trends in breeds with two different plumage colors, specifically, SLC45A2, GPNMB, MLPH, TYR, KIT, WNT11, and FZD1. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed the DEGs were enriched in melanin-related pathways, such as tyrosine metabolic pathway and melanogenesis, and PPI analysis highlighted the genes SLC45A2 and GPNMB as associated with melanin deposition. Verification experiments in chicken melanocytes demonstrated that these two genes promote melanocyte melanin deposition. These data enrich our knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate chicken feather color.

Keywords: GPNMB; SLC45A2; melanin; melanocytes; transcriptome.

Abstract

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